Revelation: The Todor Trilogy, Book One

by Jenna Newell Hiott

  “You lied to me!” Gemynd snapped and grabbed her arm.

  Numa jumped up then, clutching the blanket to her chest, and said, “Gemynd, what are you doing? Let go of your mother.”

  “You knew I longed for him my whole life,” Gemynd said, ignoring Numa’s pleas. “And yet you let me believe that he chose to leave us.”

  “He did leave us,” Molly protested, trying to pull her arm free, but Gemynd only squeezed it harder.

  “He didn’t choose to leave,” Gemynd said, feeling nothing but hate for this woman who’d lied to him his whole life. “He was banished. And you know that to be true. You were there when it happened.”

  Molly looked into Gemynd’s eyes and he saw that they were full of tears. He was glad for it. He wanted her to hurt; to feel some of the loss he’d felt for seventeen years without his father. “I couldn’t tell you that he was banished Gemynd,” she said, her upper lip trembling. “When I first told you the story of your father, it was before you’d even learned of glinting or banishment. You hadn’t yet learned the secrets of Aerie. How could I have told you then?”

  Gemynd pressed his lips together and clamped his fingers as tightly as he could around Molly’s arm. He knew she would be badly bruised and he found that he felt no remorse for it. “You had ten years after that day to tell me the truth!” he shouted. “Don’t insult me with more lies. You wanted to keep me from him. You lied to keep us apart. You knew that I would go to him if I knew the truth.”

  “Yes, Gemynd, yes!” Molly said, now sobbing openly. “I wanted to keep you away from him. But only out of love for you.”

  “How is it a show of love to keep a boy from his father?” Gemynd hissed.

  “I was so frightened of him,” Molly answered. “And yet I loved him desperately. I was in a constant state of conflict. I believed then, and still do to this day, that it was safest for you to be away from him. He was ruled by a madness that had no cure. At least not one to be found in Aerie. But I was powerless to stay away from him of my own accord. I wanted him, I hungered for him in a way that I feared would be deadly for both of us. When the Keepers sentenced him to banishment, I felt relief. You and I would be safe. And I would finally be free of the hold he had over me.”

  Gemynd softened his grip on her arm. His mother was finally telling him the truth. “But he loved you, Mother. He told me so. He would never have hurt you. Or me,” Gemynd said, his anger now beginning to wane. “There was no reason to fear him. When he was banished, you should have gone with him.”

  “You are too much like him to see it with my eyes,” Molly said, glancing at Gemynd’s hand that still gripped her arm. “But I made the choice I believed to be best. And had I chosen to go with him that day, you would never have known Numa. Seems to me you ought to at least be grateful for that.”

  Numa stepped forward then and lightly touched Gemynd’s shoulder. “Please, let go of her,” she whispered.

  At Numa’s touch, Gemynd felt a breath of calm settle over him. He looked at his hand and saw his mother’s skin pinched white between his fingers. A pang of regret stabbed him in the stomach and he suddenly felt sick. “I am sorry I hurt you, Mother,” he said and released her.

  Molly rubbed her arm where Gemynd had held her. “Have I lost you for good then?” she asked, clenching her jaw.

  “I don’t want it that way,” Gemynd replied, shaking his head. “But I cannot abide any more lies. Whether you believe it to be for my own good or not. If I am to be your son, I need to know that I can trust you above all things. I need your honesty even more than I need your love.”

  “Then you have it,” Molly said without hesitation. “I am your mother. You shall have what you need from me. Only the truth will pass my lips to your ear from this point forward.”

  “Then let us begin our reunion again,” Gemynd said, eager to put the unpleasantness of having harmed his mother behind him. “I am Joyful to be home and to be with you once again.”

  “And I am Joyful to lay eyes on you once again. Both of you,” Molly said and tenderly placed her hand on Numa’s cheek. Gemynd could not quite read the look she held in her eyes, but it spoke of something akin to pity. “And now that I have, I will leave you to it. We will have the rest of our lives to catch up.”

  “Thank you for the food, Molly,” Numa said as Gemynd watched his mother slip away through the doorskin.

  Gemynd turned to face Numa. He expected to see her shocked and tearful after witnessing his anger in full for the first time. He was ready for her reprimands and tongue-lashing for treating his mother as he had. But she simply smiled at him and handed him a piece of merryfruit from the tray. “I promised your mother I’d fatten you up,” she said.

  Gemynd took the fruit and ate it slowly as questions raced through his mind. Was Numa truly content after what she’d seen? Would there be a scolding later? Was she frightened of him now and was choosing to placate him? Finally, he could stand the wondering no more. Numa was his wife and he would not have unanswered questions between them. “Have you anything to say about what passed between me and my mother?” he asked.

  Numa shrugged. “It may not have been necessary for you to be so rough with her,” she said. “But she lied to you. I know you well enough to know that is something you cannot accept.”

  Gemynd felt his heart swell with love for his wife. No matter the circumstances, he knew she would be his ally. “I don’t deserve you,” he said.

  “Enough talk for now,” Numa replied and pulled him back to the bedsack. “Let us make love and eat and make love some more.”

  Gemynd awoke to the sound of a bell ringing. He opened his eyes to see Numa blinking back at him.

  “Breakfast,” she said. “Shall we venture out to the Eating House today?”

  Gemynd smiled wistfully and stretched. “If I had my way, I’d never share you with another soul,” he said. “But I can see that you’re itching to get out of this sleeping house.”

  “Only if you go with me,” she said.

  “Get dressed, then,” he said and playfully pushed her off of the bedsack. “Let’s go to breakfast.”

  They arrived at the Eating House just as the song of thanksgiving ended and they were greeted with smiles and embraces and pats on the back. Everyone appeared genuinely Joyful to see them, but Gemynd felt more and more on edge. He could sense that there was something in the shadows of their minds that did not welcome him.

  Numa ushered him to a nearby table where a serving girl brought them another tray of food. It was noisy in the Eating House with so many voices talking at once and Gemynd felt his mind begin to buzz. Was this the madness returning? He had been without the incessant whirring and questioning during his whole time in Iturtia. Part of him believed he had outgrown it or mastered it, but now he was beginning to think he had been without it because he had been away from Aerie. Was Aerie the cause of his madness?

  “Gemynd?” Numa asked quietly and squeezed his hand. Her reassuring presence helped calm him, but the buzzing did not cease entirely.

  At least not until Soman entered the room.

  Gemynd nearly fell off the bench when he saw him. He had grown immensely and now stood at least four hands taller than Gemynd and his shoulders were twice as broad as when Gemynd had seen him last. He was truly enormous. His hair hung down to the middle of his back and shone like gold. He looked the way Gemynd had imagined the Deis would look in human form.

  Numa flashed Gemynd a worried look. “Be nice,” she whispered.

  Gemynd held his breath as Soman glided across the room to them.

  “You’re here,” Soman said in a rumbling voice and smiled.

  Numa jumped to her feet and threw her arms around Soman. “We’re here,” she answered. “All three of us. Back home again.”

  Soman released Numa and looked straight into Gemynd’s eyes. Gemynd was flooded with a rush of nostalgia. While the rest of his body had changed dramatically, Soman’s eyes were still the same. And in a flash, Gemynd rem
embered the seventeen years they had spent together as brothers.

  “Brother,” Soman said and it came out sounding almost like a question.

  Gemynd looked to Numa again and she nodded at him. “Brother,” he replied.

  That was all Soman needed to hear and in a rush he took Gemynd into his arms. Gemynd felt like a tiny rag-doll in Soman’s grip.

  “I was so afraid you still blamed me,” Soman said as he released Gemynd.

  Gemynd didn’t know how to respond. He did still blame Soman, but he had promised Numa he would act civilly towards him. “Would you like to eat with us?” he asked after an awkward span of silence.

  Soman nodded and sat on the bench across from Gemynd.

  For what felt like hours, Gemynd watched Soman eat and listened to him reminisce about the old days. And all the while, Gemynd felt himself becoming angrier and angrier. How could Soman sit and talk incessantly about a friendship that was a lie? If he had truly ever been a friend to Gemynd, he could not have betrayed him the way he did. Brothers do not betray one another.

  Several times, Gemynd looked at Numa who seemed to hang on Soman’s every word. She laughed loudly and patted Gemynd’s hand, clearly unaware of how he was really feeling. Surely she knew him better than that. Being polite to Soman was one thing, but how could Numa expect Gemynd to carry on with him in this manner?

  Suddenly the weight of it all became too much and Gemynd flung himself across the table, grabbing a handful of Soman’s tunic in his fist. He glared into Soman’s eyes, so close to his face he could feel his breath. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Gemynd knew it was a foolish thing to taunt such a large and powerful man, but he chose to ignore those thoughts.

  “You betrayed me,” he growled and reached for his father’s dagger, but found that he’d left it at the sleeping house. He knew he couldn’t cause any permanent damage since Soman was a Zobanite, but he badly wanted to pierce Soman’s sickeningly flawless skin.

  “Release me,” Soman said in a calm voice, which only irritated Gemynd further.

  “Gemynd, you promised,” Numa whispered.

  Gemynd ignored her and kept his focus on Soman. “How can you act as though our lifetime of friendship was anything other than a farce?”

  “It was real enough to me,” Soman replied, still in a calm tone. “Now, I must insist that you release me.”

  Gemynd was aware that a small crowd had gathered around them, but he couldn’t let it interfere. He was determined to get a confession from Soman. “You turned me in,” he said, twisting Soman’s tunic tighter. “You betrayed me.”

  “I did not turn you in, brother,” Soman replied, his voice still calm, but Gemynd saw a flicker of anger pass through his eyes.

  “You told the Keepers about my glinting. I know you did and I want to hear you say it.”

  “He didn’t do it,” came a husky voice from the crowd. “Is that what this is about?”

  Gemynd turned his head enough to see that it was Ruddy Tom who spoke.

  “Mind your business” Gemynd said gruffly.

  To Gemynd’s surprise, Tom threw his head back and laughed. “Have you blamed Soman for this for all these years?” he asked. “It was never a secret who reported you, Gemynd. All you had to do was ask.”

  Gemynd felt his face fall. “What are you saying?” he demanded to know. “You know who reported me? Who was it?”

  Suddenly Tom’s smile vanished from his face. “It was me,” he said simply. “I came across a couple of bandits in Peddardshire who had a grand tale to tell of a glinter who stabbed their leader through the skull. Their description fit you exactly. It was my duty to report it to the Keepers. And it was Soman’s duty too, but his loyalty was with you. You always were a hot-headed fool.”

  “You?” Gemynd asked and the whirring in his head grew so fierce he feared he might fall over.

  “It wasn’t Soman,” Numa said, gently tugging on Gemynd’s sleeve.

  Gemynd looked back into Soman’s eyes and gradually released his grip of his tunic. If he had even an ounce of his father’s pride, Gemynd knew he could still find a reason to justify being angry. But he was not proud. And at that moment, he knew he was very, very wrong.

  “I am a fool,” he said quietly as guilt washed over him. Soman had been his lifelong friend and he had hated him for the last three years. “I am sorry, brother.”

  Soman looked at him and smiled. “I am happy to hear you call me brother again like you mean it,” he said.

  “I could think of nothing else to explain how the Keepers found out,” Gemynd said, trying to explain himself. “I was so fixated I didn’t allow for any other possibilities.”

  “It is done,” Soman said and put his hands on Gemynd’s shoulders. “Let us now revel in the Joy of reuniting.”

  Gemynd sat back down on his bench and hung his head. The feeling of guilt and of having been such a blind fool refused to leave him. He had been the one to let Lumon’s men go. He was the only one to blame for all that had transpired.

  “Gemynd,” Numa said and leaned her face down next to his. “All is well now. Let us be Joyful.”

  Gemynd looked at her and nodded. All was well. He had his bride and his brother. He was back in Aerie. The only thing more he could want was his father’s presence too. If only he could psychspeak.

  “I know what will cheer you up,” Soman said and stood up. “A visit to the Wishing Hut. You have not yet been there since your return.”

  Gemynd nodded in agreement. “And then I believe a walk to the Baldaquin tree would do me good.”

  The Wishing Hut was smaller than Gemynd remembered and he had to duck his head to fit through the doorway. But everything else was exactly the same. The shelves of books, the rickety desks, the oil lamps.

  Keeper Stout was seated at the closest desk when they entered. Like Gemynd’s mother, the Keeper had aged significantly over the last three years. “What a sight!” he exclaimed and waddled over to them. “The three of you back in Aerie. Just as it should be.”

  Gemynd smiled at the man who had been his teacher since he was old enough to walk, but something was amiss. Keeper Stout said the right words, but there was something about him that unsettled Gemynd: something that spoke of duplicity. Gemynd quickly shook the thought away. He had just learned that he had misjudged Soman for years. Could he trust his own judgement now? “I have missed you, Keeper,” Gemynd said and squeezed the older man’s hands.

  It was then that Gemynd remembered the peace declaration and reached into his boot to retrieve it, but it wasn’t there. He reasoned he must have left it in the sleeping house with the dagger and would need to return with it as soon as possible.

  “Keeper Clary is resting, but I’m certain he would like to see you,” Keeper Stout said. “Would you like to go downstairs to see him?”

  At the mention of Keeper Clary’s name, a knot formed in Gemynd’s stomach. He couldn’t help but recall all that his father told him about the man. He was the Zobanite ancestor. And it was possible that he had crafted everything in Todor for the purpose of controlling power.

  Gemynd looked at the books on the shelves. He had read every single one of them. Pored over their words, thirsty for their wisdom. And now he couldn’t help but wonder if his father was right. Was the Book of Life written by mere humans for the purpose of maintaining power? And were all these interpretations of the Truths mere follies?

  The ninth Truth came Gemynd’s mind now: To interfere with another’s purpose is to make a choice that disrupts the Oneness of Life. But weren’t the Keepers interfering with Gemynd’s purpose by prohibiting him from glinting? And by forcing him to swear an oath of loyalty?

  Gemynd’s head began to spin and he was overwhelmed by a need to flee from the Wishing Hut. “I am not well,” he muttered and ran for the door.

  As he ran from the room, he passed the familiar faces of the Keepers and saw them twist and distort into blurry images of fire and then knives and brands and rats. He pushed his way
through the doorskin and kept running. All the people of Aerie that he had known his whole life seemed to sneer at him and whisper behind their hands about him as he ran past. They hated him. He knew it. He could never belong there again. Not with his scars. They knew what he really was. They knew he was living a lie.

  Gemynd kept running until he found himself in the shelter of the Baldaquin tree. Discipleship had been in progress when he’d entered, but the children had been quickly ushered out upon his manic arrival. They feared him too. They should not have to look upon him. He was alone now. Alone with the waterfall, the lake, the Baldaquin. If he was to feel at home anywhere, it should be here. But the spinning would not stop.

  “What is it, Gemynd?” Numa asked, entering the shelter behind him.

  “How can you do it?” he asked, grabbing at her hands. “I’ve seen what you’re capable of. I know what you can do. You must feel like a mere shell of yourself here. You have to give up who you truly are to be here. We pretend to be something we are not. With every breath, we lie to those around us. Don’t you feel that they despise you for it?”

  “No one despises you here. Nor do they despise me,” she replied. “Have you spent so long in Iturtian darkness that you can no longer see the truth around you?”

  “That is just it, my love,” Gemynd said as he pressed her hands against his forehead, trying to make the spinning stop. “It was in Iturtia that I first knew truth. A lifetime of lies came from Aerie.”

  “They kept many things from us here in the name of maintaining the Joy,” Numa offered. “But perhaps it is time to leave the past in the past.”

  Gemynd closed his eyes. “I do not know how to live in a place where I trust no one; where fear and mistrust is my constant shadow. That path leads only to madness.”

  “You can trust me,” Numa said and Gemynd nodded his agreement.

  He looked up and saw then that Soman was there too. “The Keepers keep their secrets for the benefit of us all,” he said. “They do not despise you, brother. No one in Aerie does. We are all the same here.”